A Faulty Challenge
by bluelilywater
Summary: It's a normal day during a Reaper vacation. Endless for Uzuki and– well wait... Something's throwing Kariya of kilter. So many things are going wrong, little goes right, and Kariya shoves his secrets farther from the light. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Kariya woke up like a switch being pulled– exactly at eleven because he could never sleep much later. It was dragging himself out of bed that was hard, not waking up. It was the warmth and how utterly relaxing it was, despite the hot mugginess splashing in through the open window with the sunlight. He left it open at night to let the cold air in, but in the mornings, the Shibuya heat was like Hell, which was always ironic to him.

But somehow, he dragged himself out of bed anyway, even if it was more like flopping out. He landed like a cat, shaking the sleep out of his head, and clambered to the window, snapping it closed and feeling the heat stick to his body.

He stumbled into some underwear, and then halfway through getting his shirt on, he seemed to remember how to get his equilibrium back on track and he was all walking lazily and easily off to his tiny kitchen, picking his way through the mess of his room. He shoved a mug into the coffeemaker and fished a bowl that looked (maybe?) clean out of the sink, rinsing it a few times, then dumping some cereal and milk in it. He plunged his spoon in, not even bothering to sit down, when there was a knock on the door.

He glanced ruefully at his cereal, because he knew it was Uzuki, and he knew he would only get back to his cereal when it was too late, and he knew he hated his cereal soggy. He went to the door anyway because he also knew that if he didn't, she was perfectly capable of blowing his door to smithereens.

She knocked again, and he opened the door and her fist was so close to his face, he had to choke back his greeting. "Finally," she expressed, patting his cheek before he turned without a return and not-quite-so-slowly made his way back to his cereal, taking a tenacious bite.

It was a miracle!

He sat up on the counter as Uzuki scrupulously ignored the mess everywhere and perched herself on the counter. "First day of a boring week," she said drearily, picking at a hangnail.

Kariya shook his head, swallowing the rest of his breakfast and dumping it in the sink before running his hands through his bed-head of a hairstyle– limp. He snagged his mug from the coffeemaker and reached for the sugar. Uzuki hooked the container with a finger and pulled it toward her. Kariya's glare was rewarding. She only saw him loose his cool in the morning.

"Too sleepy for games, Kari?" she teased, holding the sugar cup to her mouth and pressing the warm crockery to her lips.

He took a deep breath, set down his coffee, and smiled. It chilled her a little, when he smiled and it was still morning. "Nope, never." His smile was a challenge because he was a little frustrated.

She smiled back at him, pitying. "If you don't have a bit of artificial sugar today, I'll surprise you at the end of the day," she claimed.

For a moment, he stared at her, then his eyes flashed though his eyebrows had knitted together. "Alright. You're on."

She opened her mouth to make a snarky comment, when instead she said, "Naw. Make it a week, and it'll be double the surprise."

He hesitated, then grinned. "Zing. You got me." He shrugged, taking up his mug again. "Okay. Deal. Did my cereal count this morning? Cap'n Crunch and all?"

Snorting at that, she passed the sugar back to him. "Starting now."

He obediently put it to the side and pushed off the counter, the morning shedding off him in face of the challenge. Taking a swallow, he grimaced, then smirked at his own reaction as he picked his way off to the bathroom. "How awful. How will I ever survive?" He added, after a moment and loud enough through the walls, "I like this game."

When she laughed, she couldn't see him dump the coffee down the toilet.

* * *

"You know," Kariya began. "I think I may be dying."

"Again?"

He pulled himself up off the bench like an old man to prove his point.

She followed, a little more spry, but still feeling the heat collect in the black of her clothing. He knocked his sunglasses farther up his nose, saying, "You're buying me ramen."

Laughing, she shrugged. "Yeah, okay. Fair enough."

He spared her a glance, wondering why she would possible agree so quickly. He took a quick breath. "Hey girl, what's that surprise?"

Her eyes narrowed, folding her arms after a coy flip of her hair. "How should I know?"

"Tell me it's worth it."

Smirking, she rolled her eyes. "It's a surprise, Kariya. Part of the prize is finding out what it is."

When they stepped through Ramen Don's door, he took a deep breath, then let it out in a great whoosh, knocking the heel of his hand against his forehead a few times to try to forget that he was sorely missing the sugar in his veins.

"Here, this'll cheer you up," Uzuki claimed, passing over the yen for what she ordered.

"What will?" he responded, sitting at the bar and looking over at her curiously.

She produced a bowl of steaming Mystic Ramen, shoving it into his elbow. "But you're sharing it with me."

He blinked. "Fair enough."

The noodles were sweet and savory and hot on the tongue, slippery and a little impossible to get out of the bowl, but worth it. It was a war with Uzuki over the last slice of pork, but finally Kariya let up and let her have it.

She took the bowl up and took a gulp of the broth, passing it to him. He put his mouth to the other end, though she peered at him a little too intensely. "Wut?" he muttered around the lip of the bowl, setting it down.

"What's with you and your lollipops, anyway?" she said, crossing her legs and lacing her hands around her knee.

"Why you want to know?" he responded casually, taking his sunglasses off and wiping the lenses on the cloth of his shirt. His lips still tasted salty.

"It's just, have you ever gone a day without them?"

"Oh, sure," he assured her, then took up the bowl again and finished up the broth. Before she could continue on that line of thought, however, he got up. "Still starving. I vote hotdogs."

"You never told me you were starving!" she said, following him out the door.

He cast her a look over his shoulder. "I'm always hungry. It's a curse."

She scoffed, "Only a guy would say that." but picked up her pace anyway, white boots falling in step with his own white shoes. "And hotdogs are awful. They're nasty."

Kariya shrugged. "I like how they taste imperfect."

"That's crap."

He shrugged. "Apparently I've got a taste for imperfect things." He nudged her just to see her get riled up over that.

Indeed, it was successful and her expression flashed with a bit of anger.

Smoothly, he continued with, "But hey, polar-opposites, they say."

That caught her blinking, but only after she opened her mouth for an angry retort. "Are you saying I'm a perfect–"

"Yup." He cut her off loosely, just in the right spot, and didn't say anything more.

Effectively, she was silent the rest of the way and next thing, they were slipping into the Mexican Dog and into a seat. The cushions were tattered and a little grimy, but apparently the food was decent and it hardly looked worse than his bedroom did.

Uzuki seemed roughly appalled, especially about the (apparently 'decent') food as Kariya went to gather it. "It's burnt," she said disgustedly.

"It's delicious," he countered.

She peered at a mustard-soggy bun and gagged, and all that accomplished was getting a laugh out of her partner.

In the act of shoving a hotdog into his mouth, he suddenly looked up. "Ey, 'ook oes ere!"

She snarled, "Gross, Kariya!" but looked around anyway.

Neku and co. had just stumbled through the door, laughing of all things, Shiki socking Neku in the arm and Beat looking like someone had been scrubbing at his face for quite a while until he was red as a… heh… Beat.

Kariya watched them, a sort of curious, pleased look crossing his features. "Seems like they're all getting along."

Uzuki huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "To bring them all back to life, He must've really gained a soft spot for them."

"Or just for Phones."

She looked at him sideways, placing her hands on the table and giving him an intense stare as Kariya ate another hotdog cooly.

"Do you know something I don't, Kariya?"

He smirked, leaning back and picking up a fry. "Remember, your just a spring chicken. I know _everything _more than you do."

Flushing in frustration, she pulled out her phone and glared at the screen, ignoring him as best as she could.

"Yo Lolly, Pinky!"

'Lolly' looked away from 'Pinky' slowly, eyes landing on Beat and letting his eyebrows rise.

"Hello there, Bito," he greeted in return.

Beat went an angry red and began to deny the name immediately. Neku appeared by his elbow and pulled his earphones down. "Cool it, Beat."

Neku's expression was vaguely suspicious as he gave a nod to the two Reapers. "Still a bottom link, Uzuki?"

She swallowed her lividity surprisingly well at that, so Kariya let her handle it as he dipped his fries in his shake. "Is living still boring as Hell, boy?"

Kariya snorted as she delicately crossed her ankles and ate a fry while slapping _his_ fries away from his mouth with a warning glance.

Neku simply smiled, an interesting expression to see on his face and said, "You can bet your boyfriend on that."

This time, Kariya flung out a hand to keep his partner in her seat when she gave a frightening growl. "Easy there, Uzuki. He's just messing with you." He abruptly turned the conversation away from that fragile topic and said, "Well, living seems to suit you pretty nicely."

Neku deadpanned with, "It might be because we like it better this way." and slipped into the booth with them, pulling Beat after him. Beyond them, Rhyme and Shiki were ordering the food, talking between them .

"Then we're all content," Kariya said, "Aren't we?"

Uzuki pushed his arm down, as it was still in its careful position over her stomach and snatched his shake away. Her scoff was bitter, staring frostily down at the cup.

With another glance down at his food, Kariya decided that they could leave soon. He ate the third hotdog quickly, then gave a curt smile to both Beat and Neku as he left the booth and pulled the bristling Uzuki along with him just as Shiki and Rhyme approached the table. Close call.

When they were safely out of the restaurant, Kariya gave her a careful look, a mulling one behind his sunglasses. "Don't let them get to you, Uzuki. It'll ruin your whole day."

She stuck out her jaw stubbornly. "We could be working right now. I hate vacations."

"You don't have to hate them," he suggested. "But if you want something to do, you can help me clean up a bit," he said with a grin.

"You're joking." She crinkled her nose.

His chuckle was deep. "Maybe not."

"There is _no _way you meant that seriously. What you really meant to say is, 'if you want something to do, you're welcome to clean my apartment for me'. Well, I'm not your maid." Her expression grew dark.

"I sure hope not," he began. She gave an low, angry yowl, reaching out to snatch the front of his shirt. "Because I certainly couldn't afford to pay you," he finished calmly, brushing her offending hand to the side and reaching inside his pocket to take out his keys as they approached his building.

"You're supposed to be calming me down, not making me angry," she exclaimed, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

He grinned. "I know. It's a breath of fresh air, isn't it?"

"And," she added. "That shake was totally artificial sugar."

He raised a hand in pledge. "I never had _any_ of it."

"Yeah, but you will totally cheat. You would have eaten those disgusting shake-drenched fries if I hadn't caught you. How can I know you won't? Cheat that is?" she said pointedly.

He just gave a hum of thought as they climbed the stairs.

"Well?"

He inserted the key in his door, then before turning the knob, looked to her over his sunglasses. "I guess you're just going to _trust_ me," he said quietly, oddly, and then opened the door wide and welcomed the sight of his pig-sty apartment room with a slow waft of muggy heat.

He really _ought _to call about his AC.

While he stepped over all of his crap, what he suggested swam around in Uzuki's head, and she couldn't figure out why it made her feel like someone had run their fingers up her sides. _Trust your partner._

Certainly, that phrase applied anywhere.


	2. Chapter 2

On the third day of the week, Kariya had adamantly refused to get out of bed and Uzuki was forced to pick the lock. Luckily, his apartment was crappy as well as a pig-sty, so it was not hard to do so.

"Kariya! You lazy butt!" she screeched upon slamming his bedroom door open.

He responded to her cries with a pillow to her face.

Stunned, she let it drop as he buried himself under the covers, thin hands grasping at his pillow and sheets to keep it over his head. "I'm not in the mood, Uzuki," he meant to say, but it was completely unintelligible through the pillow over his mouth.

She tugged at the covers, jerking them off his back. "Why do you sleep with so many layers?" she began as he twisted and ripped the sheets out of her grip and pulled it over his sharp shoulders again.

"It's friggin' _early, _Yashiro. Get out of my room."

She was shocked by the amount of antagonism in his voice. She had never gotten anything like this mood out of him, and he had never called her by her last time since she could remember. As far as she was concerned, he didn't have any buttons to push that got him that way.

Responding with anger, she shoved his second pillow over his head. "What's with you? It's only five!"

He batted it away, but she caught his wrist. It was thin and bony under her grip, and unusually hot.

Kariya didn't even answer or fight her grip, but groaned as if he were dying into his pillow.

"Oh please," Uzuki said. "It's the third day, and as far as I know, you're heavily addicted to sugar–"

"No. Really?"

"–and the third day is always hardest, so I thought it would be a treat to see the sunrise."

"Sappy."

"Shut up! Do you want to see it or not?"

"No. I want to sleep."

She punched him hard, but apparently hardly punched him, because he didn't respond. "Kariya! Please! I got up even earlier for this!"

When he didn't answer, she thought she'd lost, but then he said, as if completely defeated, "Make me some coffee."

"I'm not your _maid_!" she cried, even as she left the room to get a mug ready.

For a moment, he lay very still, sheets heavy and sticky against his back. He then propped his arms under him, kicking away the sheets and stepping out of his bed.

"Do you want some crea– what the Hell, Kariya!"

"_Uzuki_! _Shut the damn door_!_" _he yelled, yanking the sheets to hide himself.

She shut it so quickly, it had been no use even trying.

There was silence for a moment before she said through the door, "Apparently, sleeping naked is good for you."

"I. Am. Dead, Uzuki," he said loudly back at her.

"Then why do you do it?"

"Because I _want _to. Now leave me alone," he responded, yanking on some boxers and pants before sitting down and dragging his hands over his face and calming his heart. He pulled at his hair, then shrugged on a tee, sure that she had left until she spoke again.

"So… Cream or no?"

He pulled open the door, a long-suffering expression plastered on his face. "I don't have any cream."

She lifted her chin and snapped, "You do now." after she got over the surprise that he appeared astonishingly normal. Gray shirt, old beat up jeans, hair shoved out of the way and acting like it actually applied to the laws of gravity…

He raised his eyebrows, and then she asked, "You don't go commando, do you?"

Flushing a little and looking a little peeved, he said, "No." and moved past her.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

He looked back at her as he pulled the fresh coffee out of the maker and blindly fished for the new cream in his mini-fridge. "You are questioning my credibility a lot lately."

"It's about time I did," she huffed.

He poured nearly half a cup in his coffee, then leaned against the counter, and she was on top of the counter, and it was much the same image as the morning a day previously except for the fact that Kariya looked twice as tired, was mildly accepting of his coffee, and yet slightly frustrated as well.

"So?" She leaned toward him, watching him with alert eyes.

"I never lie to you, Uzuki." His eyes were very serious. Very tired, but serious. And then he pushed off the counter as he swallowed the last of coffee and dumped the cup into the sink. "Where are we going?"

"The top of ten-four."

He raised an eyebrow as he clambered over the stacks of CDs, dirty laundry, papers, and discarded miscellany to get to his shoes. "Isn't the sun gonna come up soon?"

"It's not my fault you were slow getting out of bed!" she said petulantly.

He rubbed his temple, fighting off a headache. He found it unfair that one could be in pain when they were _dead _of all things. "Can't we just watch it from the top of this building?"

She sniffed. "Your building's vertically challenged. We'd be lucky to catch a good glimpse."

"So're you, but I don't take you out of the picture, do I?" he muttered, unfortunately not quietly enough.

"Excuse me? I am not vertically challenged!"

"Then your claim that this building is, is flawed in every possible way. If you aren't able to compare vertically challenged from not by reflecting on yourself, you are unfit to pass judgement," he countered evenly.

"That's bull," she shot back.

He laughed, opening the door and hustling her out and locking it behind them. Perhaps the knowledge that she could pick the lock whenever she wanted should have worried him, but somehow, he got himself to forget it. What was the worst she could do? Steal his cereal?

As if she had been thinking about it very seriously, she said, "You know what I think is a very interesting game? Strip poker."

He looked at her sharply. "You're kidding me."

She smiled. "Maybe a little."

His eyes widened uncomfortably and moved on to other things. He couldn't help it, however, when he said, "Honestly, I don't think it would be fair for you. You've got barely anything."

Her eyes brightened. "Nonsense! I could take anything off! I've got at least eight losses and I'm out, but you…" she grinned. "You've got two plus your shoes."

Flushing, he turned to her, almost tripping on the stairs as he flung out a finger, pointing at her critically. "I– am– wearing– my– underwear. Got that? Besides, on any normal day, I'd at least get an even six."

She peered at him thoughtfully. "Five."

"Uzuki!"

"Okay… okay… Five."

Before he opened the door out, he slammed his forehead against the wood, scowling. "Six."

"Five."

"_SIX_!"

She giggled.

* * *

The streets were pale and dark and the air was cold when they ended up on the roof of 104. Uzuki held her hands to her hair to keep it from her eyes, but Kariya let his tangle. It was still a little odd to see him without his sunglasses.

He had simmered down and let her berate him endlessly on their way over, keeping silent and staring ahead. Cold ripples of the breeze pushed at his shirt as he settled down at the very edge of the building, looking to the East.

She sat beside him and said, "I'm sorry this is hard for you."

"What?" he looked at her in the eyes– the first time in what had felt like forever for her.

"It's not like you would admit it or anything, but this can't be fun for you," she expressed, setting her hands on her lap and fiddling with her thumbs.

He couldn't get himself to answer, the words caught in his throat. He glanced at the horizon and nudged her side.

She looked up and they gazed at the slow light coming over the tops of the building, fractures with their sharp edges. The light was bright and white, the tips of the building red and orange, the clouds like blushing, rippled smoke.

"Sappy," Kariya muttered quietly.

Uzuki shook her head, pink hair fighting against the wind. "Stunning."

"I've seen prettier things," Kariya said, still quiet, shoulders slumped, eyes on the horizon.

"I haven't," said Uzuki. "I was a country girl before Shibuya. I loved sunrises because no matter what, they were always beautiful."

He turned to stare at her, amazed. He hadn't heard her share since her first few weeks, but he had been careful to never tell her anything himself. "I forget how young you are sometimes."

She snorted. "How can that be? You're always reminding me."

Her memories must have been so vivid. His, on the other hand, were nothing more than dust. He pulled a hand through his hair, suddenly and brutally depressed by what little had come back to him. He dragged himself out of the thoughts and sat up a little, but she had caught him staring at her too long when he wasn't even aware that he had been.

"What?"

He said the first thing that popped into his head. "I always wonder what you put all your money to, but I'm starting to think it's your hair."

Her face turned upward in a livid display of superiority. "And _your _hair?"

"Natural orange-head."

The snort she made sounded like it hurt. "And you say you never lie to me."

Smiling, he digressed. "Okay. Strawberry blonde here."

It was her turn to stare. "No."

"Yup."

"So you do dye it?"

His smile grew wide. "As unmanly as it sounds, I really do."

"But you never–"

"I do it myself, Uzuki."

She reached a hand out to pull back his hair, gazing at the roots. "I can hardly tell."

He shrugged. "Ask any of the other old biddies here. I started doing it about half a decade before you showed up."

The sun had left the colors and was washing the sky a clear blue.

"Was that when you became a Reaper?"

His laugh was enough of an answer. "No way! That was just when I finally settled into my own style."

Eyes narrowing, she leaned away. "Just how old are you?"

"Age doesn't matter when your dead."

"_You_ would think so."

"I _know_ so. How much of a difference would it make if I told you I was alive when Shibuya was new, or just barely a decade older than you? It doesn't." He said gently.

Wind still tugging at her hair and playing with the frills on her shirt, she crossed her elbows and splayed her fingers over her knees. "What age are you suspended at, then?"

His gaze then turned startlingly sharp and impatient. "It doesn't matter, Uzuki."

"Then why not tell me?" she protested. His look was dark.

"27."

He stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets and making his way down without waiting for Uzuki.

"Why does that bother you so much to say?" she called after him, practically running down the steps.

He turned abruptly, anchoring himself on the handrails. She barely caught herself from running into him, though she slipped a little. His gaze was hard and angry, and it surprised her. "Because I'm past that, Yashiro. I'm dead. It _does not matter._"

And then he was moving again.

When they got down to the base level, Kariya was first out and far ahead, as Uzuki was slower, or rather at the same pace, and Kariya was going unusually fast.

She did not follow him back.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Kariya was alone. As he was the day after that. It was not until the sixth day that Uzuki finally sought him out, and Kariya was grateful.

He was eating plain crisped rice and it was so early he could barely see. It was early because he couldn't sleep, of all things, when just a few days before, all he wanted to do was just that– sleep.

He still wanted to, but it simply wasn't worth it.

There was a small knock on the door. Very quiet and barely there.

Blinking, Kariya kicked his stuff out of the way as he got to the door. He pulled it open, running a hand through his hair, and if he was surprised to see Uzuki there, he didn't show it.

_Or_ he was just to tired to show it.

"What's up?"

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, looking off to the side, but still glancing at him from time to time. "I was wondering if you're still being fair about this no-sugar thing."

Kariya rubbed at his eyes. "Sure."

"Sure as in 'yes', or sure as in 'I can't remember'?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sure as in… unless I eat in my sleep, yes," he replied.

"Name them all out," she insisted.

He nodded, but gestured her inside and went to go dump out his soggy cereal before answering. "Rice Krispies®, milk, water, bread rolls, eggs, pepperoni pizza and… I think that's it."

The dishes rattled as he rinsed them off, setting them on a towel on the counter. "Not much variety," Uzuki said.

"I ran out of ideas."

He walked to the bathroom and she could hear him brushing his teeth as she called, "Didn't sleep well?"

"Sleep?" he called back, mouth clear of toothpaste. "What are you talking about?"

"You look exhausted!"

There was a small crash as something dropped inside and silence after that. He stuck his head out to answer. "I can't imagine why."

She sighed, propping her head on her fist as she waited for him to finish. There was the sound of running water and splashes, and then silence again.

After it went on for too long, Uzuki finally stood, wandering over to the bathroom door. She tapped on the wood. "Kariya? Are you okay?"

Pushing open the door made it bump into his hip. He was leaning over the cracked sink, face wet and water dripping off his nose, eyes closed and muscles unusually pronounced in his arms. He wasn't breathing.

"Kariya?"

"No," he finally answered, in a long gasp, sucking in the air and opening his eyes as he reached for a towel. "I'm not."

"This isn't about the challenge, is it?" she began, tenaciously reaching out to lay a hand on his shoulder. He wouldn't look at her.

"No." He rubbed at his face, towel scratching against his stubble, then pushed past her to his room where he sat on his bed hesitatingly, as if he were lost.

Uzuki, leaning against the doorway, said softly, "Nightmares?"

This time, he didn't answer with a straight answer, but it was close enough. "I don't know what's wrong with me lately. They've never been this bad."

"So… the sugar has nothing to do with it."

He looked at her across the room, eyes a little unfocused and so tired it hurt to look at them. "I'm not addicted to sugar, Uzuki. I have a sweet tooth– I admit to that– but I'm not addicted. My lollipops aren't even hard candy."

She scowled. "Then this is no challenge to you."

He focused more on her eyes, narrowing in. "No, it is. It's a good one, too. It's just not as difficult as you thought it would be. The world is boring without the sweet."

Sitting down next to him, she said, "I never said you couldn't have sweet. I said you couldn't have artificial sugar."

"Until a few days ago, I was getting all the real sweetness I needed."

Her face crinkled in confusion. "What? And you call me sappy?"

Grinning weakly, he gave a single, soundless laugh. "Touché."

With that, she brought her legs up, tucking them beneath her and fingered his linens, fidgeting aimlessly. He sat, forearms on his knees and eyes closed. She refused to reach out again for him, and settled with biting her hangnails.

Finally, she had to say something. "Are you going to share?"

He scoffed. "My dreams? No. I can't even remember them."

Again, she was confused. "You can't remember your nightmares?"

"They slip away like everything else," he said, splaying his hands out and cupping them. "Like sand." When he looked at her, she turned an embarrassed shade of pink, much like her hair.

"Don't blame this on me. You pushed me away!"

"I know." He shook his head. "I know that was my fault. I apologize, if it means anything."

Silence.

"They'll go away eventually, too– the dreams," he added.

Her tone was acid. "Did I imply that I cared about their longevity?"

His eyes snapped to her, shocked. "No," he said slowly. "You didn't."

"Than don't be stupid," she said brusquely. "You don't have to let your dreams affect you."

"Uzuki," he said, voice still slow and careful. "I'm sorry I hurt you. It wasn't my intention."

Her expression upset him a little, because she rarely this type of angry– hurt– and it was never aimed at him. "Well, you did."

Honestly, he wasn't sure what to do. For a moment, he continued to sit, looking at her with regret, then he stood up and left.

That hurt more than anything, for her, and she was almost ready to cry when he suddenly returned with a glass of–

"Is that milk?"

He checked it, bringing it up to eye-level. "I think so. That's what it said on the carton."

Her eyebrows drew together. "Why?"

Looking blankly at her, he placed it in her hands. "To inform the masses that what it contains is indeed, milk."

She scowled again.

"Fine. Because it always makes me feel better. Try it," he insisted.

"Knowing you, it's probably expired."

He actually grinned at that. "Have a little faith."

The milk tasted fine, maybe a little on the bland end, but fine. "What do you drink, 2%?"

"Skim, I think."

She grimaced. "It's not working."

He looked at her a moment, then shrugging, he said, "Well then. Clearly you're suffering from something a bit of liquid happiness can't cure."

"I'm half convinced you're completely deranged," she said, staring at him like he was high.

And then he laughed with no comeback to shoot back at her.

The milk sloshed a little as he took it and finished it off. He pushed it onto the already cluttered bedside table, a couple of papers flapping to the floor. "So," he started to say.

"One more day," she said in turn.

Appearing amused, he agreed. "Yes, but I was about to ask you if what I said is really the problem here."

She turned to him, face livid. "Are you implying that this is solely my fault? Again?"

He held up his hands. "Not at all, though I worded it indelicately. I was wondering– am wondering– if there is any other factor at work here. Though I know my harshness clearly injured you, my words were solely pertaining to me. They were in no way aimed at you, so… What's wrong, Uzuki?" he asked.

She gnawed at her lip. "It was just what you said."

Disconcerted, he formed his next words carefully, "Then how do I make it up to you?"

"Ramen."

He tried not to laugh. "That's it?"

Her eyes smiled. "That's it."

* * *

"Ramen Don or Shadow Ramen?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"I dunno. I'm suspicious of ulterior motives. I was wondering if you wanted to bankrupt me, or something of the like."

The stood at the end of the street, watching as people parted out of their way even if they couldn't see them. Whenever the RG did see them, they somehow knew to stay away. Kariya wasn't sure if that only applied to them or not, as Uzuki fought off any curious people with a fierce murderous aura. Once, a small kid had touched her hair as she waited in line and Kariya had thought that'd be the end of that poor boy. But upon seeing him, no doubt realizing his youth, she had simply turned around with an odd, half-angry face and ignored him.

Kariya slipped his wallet out of his pocket as they approached Ramen Don, absently counting his yen, then passing over the appropriate amount to order Miso Ramen, his personal favorite. He turned to Uzuki, though he already knew what she would want.

"Same."

He blinked, then paid for that, too. He began to ask her why she–

"Because I always order the same thing, and so do you unless it's a special treat… so I'm trying something new," she claimed.

All he did was shrug and get the ramen when it was up. He slid into the seat next to her, passing her the bowl, then tucked into his own.

After a few bites, he asked, "Do you like it?"

"I always thought it was okay," she said, popping a carrot slice in her mouth. "and Ramen Don's good no matter what you get."

"That's true."

"Yeah."

Kariya was ranging from vaguely awkward to bored. It was small talk and downright _strange _to be talking small and emotionless with Uzuki.

Whether she knew or not, the fact of the matter was… he wasn't liking it.

"Look, Uzuki–"

"What's this?" Uzuki plucked a clear vegetable out of the broth.

"Water chestnut," he said, his earnest expression dying on his face.

"Huh."

She sucked on it, then moved on from sorting through the vegetables to eating the noodles. He watched her, not even bothering to touch his food, expression impassive and completely bored.

"The weather's cooler lately," she said absently after picking out all the noodles and moving on to drink the broth.

Any other time, he would have mocked her that she would mention the weather. 'Be creative!' he would have said, then moved onto a subject like the taste of wild bear. This time he said, "I guess." and turned away to watch his ramen, as if it was far more interesting than his companion and would save him from a second death.

"What did you do these last few days?" she asked, setting her bowl down, but looking out the window instead of at him.

"Nothing. Look–" he started again, waited a moment to see if she would interrupt him, then continued, gazing at her intently. "If you're trying to kill me, you're doing an _excellent_ job."

She met his gaze and smiled. It was fake. "Kill you? You're already dead, Kariya."

And somehow, coming from her at that moment, it was as if he'd been slapped. He dropped his gaze and turned back to his food, finishing it simply so he wouldn't insult the owner.

* * *

There was a blank, empty silence as they walked back to his apartment, but when they reached it, she said, "See you tomorrow, then!" and began to walk away.

"Now wait a second!" Kariya protested, catching back up to her and shoving his key back in his pocket.

She turned back to him, smile still fake and his face fell again from any animation to complete emptiness, much like the silence that had been between them, but with a little more desolation to it.

He wanted to joke– say something like, 'I thought you said no artificial sugar?'

He hesitated, then said blandly, "Yeah. See you tomorrow."

She gave a little wave and left as he stood there, not really sure what had just happened. He then slowly made his way back to his apartment.

He locked the door behind him, then sat down on his couch. He stared a the wall, face dead.

What had just happened? What was the point of being dead when it was just as empty as living?


	4. Chapter 4

His phone went off at five-thirty, just to be safe, and Kariya wanted to kill it because finally– finally!– he had fallen asleep (restless and unpleasant, but without nightmares and sleep nonetheless), but he got up anyway.

He practically fell into his clothes, almost forgot to add the coffee in… well… coffee, and had trouble a moment finding his keys. Somehow, through it all, he got out the door and walking through the streets with his eyesight fairly functional and all of his clothes on.

The stairs up to her own apartment felt _impossibly _long, but he made it, though all he did was take a step toward her door, reach out a hand, then draw back. Finally he opted to sit by her door instead, gazing at the ugly carpet like it was the most intimidating thing to be sitting there.

At one point, he must have fallen asleep because next thing, her door was opening and Uzuki was blinking at him as she reached for her morning paper, confused and a little disturbed. "Kariya?"

His head rested on the wall against his back and he gave her a lazy wave and a sigh.

"What… are you doing?" she finally said, throwing her newspaper inside, then looking down at him. "What are you holding?"

Getting up slowly because his legs were completely dead and steadying himself with one hand on the wall, he said, "A peace offering."

"What," was all she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

He passed her the small plastic bag and she looked inside. "Cookies?"

"That's what they told me when I bought them. They're still warm."

"Kariya," she began, surprise finally registering on her face. "It's six in the morning."

He squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his palms to them. "I know. No one has cookies for breakfast."

"I didn't say that. I said it's six in the morning," she reminded him. "Come on in, you weirdo."

Obedient, he followed her inside, then sat at her table, pressing his forehead into the tabletop. "It's so early," he groaned.

"I was wondering if you really realized how early you actually got yourself up when you've been running on like… no sleep," she said as she sat down across him, dumping the cookies onto a plate and passing him a mug of milk. "I was also wondering if these cookies are for me, or you."

"You," he told her. "I've got to get through today still."

"Yes, yes you do," she agreed, reaching for a cookie and taking a bite. She hummed at the warmth and chocolate.

Kariya finally looked up, rubbing at his face and giving another sigh.

"Well, I'm glad that you would go through this for me," she said, trying to get him to meet her eyes as she brought the cookie away from her mouth.

He wanted to express his confused exasperation. Before, she would barely talk to him, and now she plainly appeared to be quite normal. "What do you want from me?" he muttered into the crook of his elbow, staring at the wood of the table.

"Maybe I just want you to stop shutting me out," she said passively.

His eyes were moments from hers with that response. "Shut you– what?"

She took her time answering, gazing over his head, one elbow on the table, hand cupping her cheek. When she was ready, she met his eyes. "I ask you questions about your past and you refuse to answer."

He tried to keep his expression easy.

"See?" she said. "Right there. You're already getting prepared to reject me."

"I'm not rejecting _you_," he protested. "What if I don't want to talk about me? What if I don't want to talk about my life? I decided to become a Reaper for a reason, Uzuki. I could have easily chosen to live again."

Her gaze was steady. "You're making me guess. Would you rather I formed a very wrong opinion of you, rather than tell me yourself?"

And his gaze was iron. "You don't need to judge me by my past. That's over. I can't even remember half of it, anyway. Judge me by what I do here– with you."

"But–" she faltered. "I barely know anything about you."

He blinked, then leaned back, elbows off the table. "What do you want to know?"

"How did you d–"

He stopped her before she could continue. "Uzuki, you want to know about me, right? Not what I've done. Correct?"

Fish-like, she opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked at her hands, then back up at him. "What's your favorite color?"

Then he smiled, bright and calm. "There we go."

* * *

Halfway through the day, they had parted ways– mostly for Kariya's sake. He needed to take a shower, then nap as long as possible or he would most assuredly "die" (meant to be ironic, of course, but he said it quite seriously). He was dead asleep, as the case may be, when she knocked on his door.

It was the usual production in getting to answer it. Fall out of bed, stumble through the mess in his room, then as soon as he could properly see and balance himself, he would open the door.

Her presence was met with a smile– a smile which she had, quite frankly, missed badly.

"Hey Uzuki."

And she smiled back. "You followed the rules, right?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

She passed him through the door, tossing her messenger bag onto the table, then rummaging through it. She produced two shopping bags. "I'm making you dessert."

He laughed. "If you cooking kills me a second time, I swear, I bringing you to Hell with me."

With a scoff, she replied with, "This is baking, Kariya, and I'm good at that. No more toxic waste for you."

"Thank Heaven." He threw his arms in the air in praise.

"Stop making death jokes. They're not funny." She began to look through his cabinets for a rolling pin. He sat on the counter, watching her, and refused to help because he had done his job– this was his reward.

She puttered around, pulled out the recipe card, then began to start. When she pulled out the coconut and graham crackers, he became more curious about her concoction than before.

"What are you making?" he said, mildly dubious. He leaned ver to try to get a good look at the recipe, but there wasn't a name. It was written very carefully in the very recognizable handwriting of Uzuki's.

She looked haughty for a beat. "You'll just have to see, won't you?"

After her haughtiness came an indignation of sorts when he said, "This isn't the only surprise, is it?"

"Of course not."

He focused his attention on her bag pointedly, and she reacted instantly, dashing out a hand and snatching it up. She hung it on her shoulder, giving him a _what-are-you-gonna-do-now-huh? _look, and continued doing mysterious things with his kitchen.

"Am I allowed to leave? I feel like I'm cheating."

She laughed at that. "Sure. Go be a hermit if you like."

With a perfect smile, he said, "I resent that."

"Well then, don't leave. Stay here and cheat." Uzuki shrugged, but didn't even look up.

It was with a sigh and clench of the jaw that Kariya finally gave up, leaning back against the empty wall without cabinets and drawing his long legs up. He listened to the sounds of her moving about, doing her thing, and it was almost calming– calming enough that he was on the brink of falling into sleep, eyes closed, when she said, "Alright. Moving on."

He squeezed his eyes tighter closed for a moment, swallowing, then opened one, brown gaze meeting her pious blue. "It's not something I'll have to wait through?"

"No," she said slowly, puckering her lips thoughtfully. She reached a hand into her bag and pulled out something small and silver. If it weren't that it was small, he would have flinched, but she tossed it to him, then slipped up onto the counter with him, pulling another something out of her bag and tangling it in her fingers as he registered what he was holding.

"An iPod?"

She smiled. "Newest one out with all your favorite songs and the new albums you've been looking at. I figured you could do with something nicer than that old walkman. It barely works." She took a breath as he thumbed the home button.

His eyes widened a little in surprise. "The beach? For the… this picture thing?"

Her laughter was a little on the nervous side. "We never get to leave Shibuya much. I remember once you telling me that if you could visit one thing, it would be the glass beach. Fort Bragg in California? I looked it up. It's really cool. Anyway– that's what the picture's of."

"Oh."

Did he like it? She couldn't tell.

He looked at the lock, then did as it told him. He was shocked to discover he needed a code. He glanced at her, suspiciously amused.

"Go on. Guess." She was fidgeting with the thing in her hands, watching him almost earnestly.

Kariya looked back down at the numbers, then with some quick tapping, unlocked it– in one try.

Uzuki didn't know how to react to that. He certainly wasn't– reacting... He wasn't reacting. It was like _he_ was the one that set the code.

Except for the fact that his eyes were focused and narrowed on the screen, thumbs swiping it and tapping the folders that she made, then circling back to music.

Then he looked satisfied and she was allowed an exhale that she wasn't even aware she was holding back.

"Do you like it?"

He was silent, but his countenance was lighter– as if he did.

She had spent hours on this thing, and he wasn't even bothering to answe–

"Yes. I love it. Thank you, Uzuki," he said, words a little tight and faint… and she couldn't understand why.

She gingerly placed the thing in her hands on top of the screen. Headphones. "I thought of getting a speaker system, but I–"

"This is fine," he said quietly, picking up the headphones and draping them around his neck. He tapped the screen again and a song started to play– wordless. It was one of the ones she had picked blindly from his original collection he had let her borrow (that she had promptly forgotten to give back, let alone listen to). It was slow piano, soft noise, voices, and a lone guitar, like water, beautiful and peaceful. He met her gaze, setting the iPod aside and giving her a small smile that she couldn't interpret well. It looked sad– to her.

She crinkled her brow in return, glancing at the timer. "Five minutes. Look, Kariya. If you don't like it, I'm sor–"

"No," he said thoughtfully, then laughed a little. "My bad. I really love it, Uzuki. I just felt a little funny for a moment there. This week's been a weird one– that's for sure." He shoved himself off the counter and offered her the bright, calm smile she had been looking for.

The song silenced and shuffled to another, noticeable more peppy and less peaceful. His smile turned to a grin. "Wouldn't have thought to put that one in."

Uzuki couldn't help a smug grin in return, more than a little relieved. "That one's my pick."

"Ah. It _does _seem like you," he agreed. "What other chirpy, sparkly assassination attempts did you plant in my 'gift'?"

Her laugh was one caught off guard and hardly matched her words. "You jerk! Don't insult my music."

"It's not music. It's like… little puppies trapped inside a beat."

"At least my songs aren't about drugs."

He snorted. "I wouldn't be so sure about tha–"

The timer went off and he finally registered the delicious smells coming from the oven he _horribly _neglected. It was a strange occurrence.

She jumped off the counter, close to as enthusiastic as he'd ever seen her. "This is the best part. I think you'll like it."

Reaching for a hot pad, she swung the oven open and pulled out a flat pan of… something that looked distinctly edible and smelled amazing.

"What is it? I mean… What's in it?" Kariya asked, coming forward and pulling a fork out of a drawer.

"It's hot is what it is. Let it cool off," she insisted, shoving away his homing-in utensil.

Immediately he protested. "I waited a week for something like this. I'll let it cool– don't worry." He forked a corner out and it was gooey and looked like it could definitely end his no-sugar streak. He blew on it, watching Uzuki's controlled fit of annoyance.

He smirked, and trusting that at that point, he wouldn't be burned, popped it in his mouth.

It was close to being too sweet. It was a little on the hot side, chocolate-y and tasting of graham and toasted coconut. "Whew. Kudos to you, girl."

Her tantrum of a face turned helplessly into a pleased smile. "Good, huh?"

He fought his immediate urge to agree and shrugged instead, just to push her buttons. He took her punch in the chest and shrugged that off too as she dissolved into a sort of eased content in laughter. Likewise, he couldn't help but laugh as she held onto the counter.

"You know how much I missed you, Kariya?" she said through her laughter, then sobered a little while shaking her head.

A guilty, mollifying smile crossed his expression, then switched back to a tease, eyebrows raised. "No. Better tell me."

She caught the apology, then rolled her eyes. "Like a new iPod and Magic Cookie Bars couldn't tell you _that._"

He cast a look at the said treat, "Well, they certainly are magical." then leaned back against the counter, face content and relaxed. "And it's a strange adjustment to have this instead of ramen."

"But you like it," she confirmed.

"Yes."

She reached to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, recovering from her laughter and he watched her, that odd, sad expression replacing his contentment.

"What?" she demanded. His eyes drifted down until they rested at his shoes.

"Thanks for forgiving me, Uzuki."

She blinked, breath catching in the sudden change of mood. "It's nothing, Kariya. I was being stupid." He raised his eyes to her again and stayed there for too long a while for her to think it was natural. "And you. You were being stupid about it, too," she added.

He smirked ruefully. "I've always been stupid." His breathing seemed careful. Repressed.

"Are you okay?" Then it was as if something had hit her very hard. Everything came together abruptly and it _hurt_.

"_Kariya, did you run out of points_?" she said suddenly, straightening and grabbing the front of his shirt, face frightened and in utter denial and panic.

He opened his mouth, expression undefinable except that his eyes weren't meeting hers.

"_Kariya! _**_No!_**"


	5. Chapter 5

"_Kariya! _**_No,_**" she gasped, grip slackening, horror written all over her face. "Don't say _anything. _Don't you _dare."_

"Wait–" he began.

"You_ bastard," _she said, voice cracking and tears welling up in her eyes. _How dare he–_

His eyes finally came to meet hers straight on and they were just as panicked and just as frightened. "You–"

"How could you _do _this to me!" _So many days wasted._

Kariya's hands shot out and gripped her by the shoulders. His eyes were wide and he shook her a little. "Uzuki, listen to me! I'm _fine_. You're _right._ I would never do that to you! Don't jump to conclusions."

Relief hit her so fast and so hard, she just couldn't... Breath hitching, her face seemed to collapse into itself and she burst into tears. "Dammit, Kariya," she sobbed and fell into him, curling her fists into his shirt again, but in a completely different way.

Shocked beyond just her behavior from her assumptions, he hesitated to comfort her. He could feel where she was crying against his shirt. It was wet– and her fingers were white... and for once, he seemed absolutely petrified and unable to react.

"You really are a bastard," she continued and unhooked her hand to beat on his chest. That drew him out of his paralysis and he grabbed her wrist firmly, pushing her away. She let go of his shirt and wiped her tears rapidly away. Her face was quickly conforming into anger.

"Uzuki… no. Please. I'm sorry." _How many times would he hurt her?_

"What is _wrong _with you?" She tried to pry his hand away from around her wrist. "Why would you let me bel–"

He knew that there was more for her to say. He knew that, and yet he silenced her anyway in the only way he could think to at that very moment.

He kissed her.

Her surprise was evident in how her body reacted. She froze up and couldn't respond until her brain registered that Holy _crap._ He was _kissing _her.

Then she couldn't answer in turn anyway– whether with rejection or otherwise– because he pulled back and he was wearing a face she had never seen him have before.

Kariya was perfectly mortified. He even wiped his lips, staring at his fingers like he couldn't quite believe what he had done either. Taking a step back, he gaped, completely wordless. _It was _**_not _**_supposed to happen that way._

"What– did you…?" Uzuki mumbled, numb, mind stumbling over the few short seconds.

_Could he run? No. He was in his own _house,_ for goodness' sake. What could he do?_

Attempting to rearrange his face into something calm and collected and failing miserably, he lifted a hand to cover his eyes, swearing himself in circles.

"What was _that_?" she finally said, coherently.

He groaned, dropping his hand, face looking like he was suddenly suffering from an intense headache, eyes clenched shut. "I don't _know_."

"You don't know? What does that even mean?" she demanded loudly.

Miserably he opened his eyes, wincing at her face. "Uzuki–" he began gingerly, delicately.

She silenced him in turn, but without the kissing part. She stared him down, raising a finger and jabbing him painfully in the shoulder. "I thought you were _gay._"

Floored, he stared back at her, jaw dropped and other expression dropped as well. "_Pardon?_"

She crossed her arms, looking like she intended to interrogate him. "I could have sworn you were gay."

"W-what?" he spluttered. "Why?"

"You never expressed any interest in other females. In fact, you clearly shunned all of them," she said, confident in her deduction.

"I never expressed any interest in guys either!" he cried.

Uzuki hesitated. "But naturally you wouldn't–"

"I am not gay!"

"There's nothing wrong with being–"

"Uzuki! I'm _not _gay. I like women! In fact, I _love _women!" he said, near to shouting, his cool completely lost.

She cocked her head. "Bisexual people do, t–"

"_Dammit _Uzuki! I'm _pretty _sure I know my own sexuality!" he exclaimed heatedly.

Finally, she closed her mouth, hands on her hips, eyes narrowed. His vehemence dissolved when he remembered what the true problem was.

"You're kind of a coward, aren't you?"

Again, she left him wordless. She had an amazing ability of having the same effect in so many different ways.

She continued, unsympathetic. "You kissed me, then backed off as soon as you realized what you'd done. If you're gonna kiss me, _kiss _me. Sweep me off my feet."

He blushed– a remarkable change in features– and looked doubtful at the same time. "Are you–" He awkwardly tapped his fingers on the countertop, shifting uncomfortably, and looked anywhere but her, face continuing to flush a deeper red.

Uzuki waited, wondering what exactly he would do and still feeling the odd, tingling numbness on her lips. He couldn't just… She _would not _confess herself to him if he made a mistake in the spur of the moment.

He swore quietly, muttering a quick, "Well, _this _is romantic." before taking a step closer and _hoping _that he could do just what she had asked of him.

Once she recognized that he was going to, she met him halfway. The kiss was silent and the awkwardness seemed to blow away. His hand moved around her waist, the other just at the nape of her neck as she sealed their lips, fingers hooking around his belt just to get him closer. His lips were warm and his touch was too and it made her heart beat in her throat, thoughts spinning madly and clearing to leave nothing... and this was what she wanted.

But of all things, he pulled away _again._

He took a shuddering breath, playing his fingers in her hair before bringing them down to extract her fingers from his belt. His expression had switched again, and there was more of a sharp pain than the passion that she had felt.

For a moment, they just stood there, her thoughts slowly collecting at the injustice and insult, and his a hidden and very panicked whirlpool. But his eyes were bright when he looked up again, and a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth despite the way his eyebrows had knitted together as a sign of some inner torment. "Sorry 'bout that. Want me to walk you home?"

She stood rooted to the spot, all the dredges of feeling from the kiss banishing abruptly and leaving her stunned. "What?"

"It's late," he said, voice unbelievably gentle, and reached down for her hand. She let him take it. "I'll get you home."

And of all the times she would have protested and demanded what the hell was going on, it was because of his expression that she complied.

That kiss meant something so much more to him. She could tell. And he knew it.

So she let him take her home, she heard his soft "Thank you for everything", she watched from her window as he exited the building, and she saw the jolt of a moment where he staggered and brought his hand to his eyes, stopping and breathing. Just breathing slowly, evenly... and then moving on.

He held so many secrets, and so many of them were hers, and she held so little, none being his.

_Trust your partner._

She sighed, sat down, closed her eyes, and could almost feel his lips again against hers.


End file.
